Queen Borte mother once again

Camera traps of Land of the Leopard National Park have recorded female Far Eastern leopard Leo 16F Queen Borte together with a cub. The leopardess who was named by Hollywood star Steven Seagal has become a mother for the second time.

When inspecting camera traps, the national park staff discovered the leopardess with a little cub in the photos taken in 2016. They identified the animal as Queen Borte by the spots on her coat. In the pictures, she is playing with the cub and they both go past the camera. Scientists do not rule out that there might be other cubs in the litter that were probably not caught on camera traps.

"Far Eastern leopard cubs normally stay with their mother until they are between 13-14 months old," said Irina Maslova, deputy director of Land of the Leopard for science.

Obviously, Queen Borte had a date with a male leopard somewhere between late autumn 2015 and early winter 2016. In autumn 2016, camera traps already recorded her with the young offspring.

Queen Borte got her name from American actor, director and producer Steven Seagal who became her keeper in September 2015. He named the predator after Genghis Khan's first wife who had nine children. A few months later, the leopardess was recorded with her first litter, three cubs.